Being there

I remember when I was younger, I hated having a last name that started with C. That meant I was high up in the alphabet and would be called in the earliest group during everything. The reason I hated it was because my dad was always late. I prayed that he would see me get my class ring or make my confirmation or graduate from high school. I always hoped they would start the ceremony late or change the system and go from Z to A one time. But, no, he usually missed the highlights. (Funny, now he's always early!) I don't know if parents realize just how much it means to their children to have them there. No matter where it is - if a child is doing something of importance, they want their parent there to witness it. If you are the only kid whose mom didn't show up, you will feel so embarrassed. If your dad is late and doesn't see you get the trophy, it just doesn't mean as much. Some parents are so good about this. They are always there to support their children. I'm not saying you have to smother your kids. Don't visit them at school every day. Don't wait for the school bus with a poster that says "I love you" or something super un-cool like that. Find the happy medium. Pay attention when she scores the winning goal (instead of texting on your blackberry). Watch him in the talent show and clap harder than anyone else. Parents, please, as you're reading this - make a mental note to always get there on time. Always be there for your child, even if they tell you that you don't need to be there. Get there.

What's in a name?

I'm sure I will make someone mad with this post, but some of these children's names lately are just driving me nuts. I know it's tough to pick a name, but remember - this is something your child will keep with them for a really, really long time. So, choose wisely, please! My first daughter was easy. My husband's maternal and paternal grandmothers were both named Catalina. So, guess what? The second one wasn't so easy. I wanted Caroline so we could call her Carly and have Caty and Carly and wouldn't that be so cute. He didn't like it. How about Casey or Callie or Courtney? Nope, nope and nope. So, I actually let him pick my youngest daughter's name. Here were my requirements: It had to have a nickname. It couldn't be something that rhymed with something bad (see The Simpsons episode Art, Bart, Cart, Dart, Eart - nope, Bart is great!). And the third thing was he had to say the name 20 times in a row to see if it was the most annoying sound he ever heard. Just recently, while talking with my dad, he said he didn't like her name at first. Neither did my mom. She thought Sabrina would spark rantings of "teenage witch". But, since no kids these days know that cartoon, it's not an issue. My dad actually said the name was pretentious like Tiffany or Ashley. I disagreed. But, he said he likes it now since it's grown on him. One name that will never grow on me: Fisher. It's not necessarily a bad name, but when you hear Fisher's dad say Fisher's name every time he addresses Fisher or looks at Fisher or thinks about Fisher or stands next to Fisher - well, after a while, you want to kill Fisher's dad and remind him the reason you are repeatedly kicking him about the head is because he keeps saying Fisher over and over and over! What's funny is that I see this guy at lots of places. And whenever I see him, he's with Fisher. And when he's with Fisher, he needs to remind Fisher that he needs to be nicer to his brother and Fisher should not run near the rocks and Fisher should wait his turn and Fisher should not hit anyone with his golf club and Fisher should talk more quietly and oh Lord, please, I can't take it anymore. I now have it running through my head. It's like my ears are ringing. Stop the madness! Obviously, this man never did number three on my list. He never said Fisher over and over and realized how awful it sounds. Maybe, it's not the name so much. Maybe it's the dad's whiny little voice that drives me over the edge. Hmmm. It's a good thing he's not married to the lady I heard in the supermarket the other day yelling at her son.... Bender.

The quiet game

Tonight, I played miniature golf with my fantastic four-year-old daughter. It was great - I truly adore her and love spending time with her. She's the kind of kid that makes you laugh and makes you just want to hug her and squeeze her cheeks and take that mental picture of her and hope she never changes. Anyway, we're playing and having a good time and we catch up with the family in front of us. It wasn't hard to do since there were seven of them and seven people couldn't possibly play quickly. Five of them were girls. Ugh, I thought it was hard having two daughters, I can't imagine five! So, we're behind them and I find it cute that the girls are all counting each stroke they take. Yeah, it was cute when they counted to 10 or 12 and then said they lost count and had to start all over again. Obviously, they don't know the miniature golf etiquette of stopping at five strokes. After the seventh hole of waiting for them to do this, I realized that their parents (or the older folks that were with them) didn't tell them to stop. I didn't mind so much since I wasn't in a rush - we were killing time while my oldest girl was at a party. But, it seemed kind of strange that these parents/guardians/whomever didn't tell their girls that they were being a little inconsiderate of the other people playing golf (because by now, others were waiting behind us). And then it struck me as even more strange that they didn't say anything to them at all. For about 14 holes, this guy and gal didn't speak to the girls (or to each other for that matter). They were obviously a family. The woman was looking at the girls but apparently didn't find any reason to open her mouth and talk to them. The guy was playing golf but didn't bother to share in the girls' counting or report his score to them when he was done putting. It just all seemed very odd. And then, as if reading my mind, the woman turns to me and says, "Oh, I'm sorry if we're taking too long. You're being very patient." In my head I'm thinking, way to notice now that we're on the 17th hole! But, I just smiled and said we weren't in a rush. I guess when you have five daughters, you don't need to say anything - they talk enough for the entire family.